User Experience influences or decides?

RURAL HOUSE AND SMALLHOLDING, CORNWALL

The owner of this smallholding in Cornwall, England, expect a payback time of 5 years from their high energy producing turbine.

Project cost: £45,000 - Estimated payback time: 5 years

Background

Located outside the market town of Camelford, the owener of this property are commercial and residential builders and developers whose clients include many farms, homes and holiday cottages within a fifteen-mile radius. Their home and business sits in three-and-a-half acres of land. Keen to maximise every square metre and live a greener lifestyle, they rear 15-20 free range pigs in his woodland, a few chickens, and occasionally lambs. Investigating green energy solutions for the farm was a logical next step.

Turning to green building blogs, forums and websites for advice, Clive opted for wind turbines to capitalise on the strong winds that come from both the north and south coasts.

Installation

After selecting a Gaia-Wind 133-11kW for its simplicity and high performance, the owner identified Gaia-Wind reseller Myriad CEG as their installer. From a site survey and feasibility study by Myriad CEG, a bat survey was also carried out due to the hedgerows and pine trees around the property. The bat survey revealed no obstacles.

The owner worked with Myriad CEG on the installation last year, deploying his skills and resources for all the ground work. This reduced the total project cost by approximately 20%. All the ground work and base for the Gaia-Wind lattice tower were completed by Christmas 2010 and the turbine was commissioned on 24th January 2011.

Energy production

In February, the turbine produced 2722 kWh of electricity; in May 3352 kWh.

“We selected the lattice tower as it emits low noise. The tower is 150 metres from our home and it’s absolutely silent. We are producing more than enough electricity than we need; probably about 70% is exported to the grid via Microtricity.” Turbine owner